FAST FACTS

“Use it or lose it.” That could be your doctor talking to you about your heart. It's a muscle, so if you want your heart to be strong, you have to exercise it. This is true even if you have a heart condition like atrial fibrillation.

Exercising for heart health is important, but never begin an exercise program without talking to your doctor first. He or she might order a stress test to see how well your heart works during exercise. Check with your doctor if you’re not sure how much exercise is safe for you, then start slow and build to meet your goals. Here's how to get going.

Choose Fitness Activities You Enjoy

The ideal heart-healthy exercise plan includes two kinds of exercise: aerobic and strengthening.

Aerobic exercises are those that get your heart pumping and have you breathing harder. The good old-fashioned standbys — walking, swimming, biking, using the elliptical at the gym — work, says Robert Kim, MD, a cardiologist and associate professor of medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.

Choose whatever heart-healthy exercise you like, because if you like it, you’re more likely to stick with it, “and it’s not so much what the exercise is, but reliably doing it,” Dr. Kim says.

Strengthening exercises involve using resistance to make your muscles stronger. For a healthy heart, these could include squats, stretches, lunges, crunches, bends, push-ups, and weights.

You'll need both aerobic and strength building exercises for a healthy heart.

“Building muscle mass is essential to preventing and reversing metabolic syndrome, which is the number one cause of cardiovascular events,” says Steven Masley, MD, medical director of the Masley Optimal Health Center in St. Petersburg, Fla., an assistant clinical professor at the University of South Florida, and author of “The 30-Day Heart Tune-Up.”

Set Your Session Goals

The American Heart Association recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity 5 days each week. That’s a minimum of 150 minutes a week. But if you don’t have 30 minutes a day to devote to heart fitness, break it up into three 10-minute segments. Another option is 50 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise at least three days a week.

Devote time at least twice a week to strength-training exercises. Your strength-training routine should include working each of the major muscle groups: legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms. Repeat each move, whether it's a sit-up or lifting a weight above your head, until it’s hard to do another repetition. Aim for two or three sets of each exercise. A set is anywhere from 8 to 12 repetitions of the movement.

Your target heart rate for exercise should be within the range of 50 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate. And, for a quick way to tell if you’re exercising at the right level for your heart: You can exchange pleasantries with an exercise buddy, but can’t carry on a lengthy discussion.

Regular exercise will help lower your blood pressure, which will reduce your risk for stroke and heart attack. Talk to your doctor about your target blood pressure. Most people should have a top number of 120 or lower and a bottom number of 80 or lower.

“If you’re typically sedentary, you don’t want to go from 0 to 100 miles per hour,” Dr. Podesta says. “You’ll get hurt or you won’t continue to exercise.”

He recommends 10 to 15 minutes a day at first, building up to your fitness goals. For instance, start by walking at a brisk pace — one of the best exercises for heart health — for 10 to 15 minutes each day. Slowly increase your time and your pace.

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